Dec. 20
Night of Music w/ Claran Nagle and Tara Novak
Bemis Center, 724 S. 12th St.
7 p.m., $7/$5 members
341.7130, bemiscenter.org
Musical collaborations can spring from unexpected sources. Irish tenor Claran Nagle is rooted in the traditions of his native Old Sod. He trained at prestigious schools there, he performed with the National Chamber Choir of Ireland and Opera Ireland and he was Riverdance’s male lead...

Dec. 20
Hot From Far w/ Artillery Funk, Shoedog, Cymbal Rush and Standbye
Sokol Underground, 2234 S. 13th St.
7 p.m., $7, myspace.com/hotfromfar
Before you head home for the holidays and battle with your uncle over who gets the last fifth of eggnog, check out the 5th annual “A Very Hot From Far Christmas Show.” Pop-punk goes Yuletide jam as these party rockers led by front man Joe Champion take over Sokol...

Dec. 22
Gunk’s Murray Christmas! w/ Kobrakyle and $pencelove
Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St.
9 p.m., $5/FREE for 21+ before 10:30 p.m.
waitingroomlounge.com
I know you have been itching to dress up as your favorite Bill Murray character, so here’s your chance! Gunk, besides being that stuff under your fingernails, is also a frequent excuse to get your dance on in Omaha. This year’s Christmas party is a tribute...

Dec. 22-23
Mannheim Steamroller
Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St.
7:30 p.m., $37-$77, 345.0606
ticketomaha.com
Tickets have been on sale since Aug. 19, but at last word a few still remained for both performances. This is the real local act made good, Grammy winner Chip Davis’s Mannheim Steamroller. It was 26 years ago that Davis released Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, launching the group he created, with...

It could be Santa, Yahweh or the Universe that makes wishes come true, but I like to think it’s simply the power of the wisher. Ultimately the awesome strength of a positive self-fulfilling prophecy can make dreams, wishes and visions into reality. Oprah says “pray on it,” we say wish on it — and it’s really the same thing. We asked an exceptional bunch of Omahans to relate their own holiday wishes,...

Dec. 9
Brad Hoshaw & The Seven Deadlies w/ The Big Deep
Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St.
9 p.m., $7, onepercentproductions.com
One of Omaha’s best artists, Brad Hoshaw, brings together the band that launched him from singer-songwriter to bandleader and helped land him the 2010 OEA Award for Artist of the Year. This Waiting Room show will reunite members of the original Brad Hoshaw & The Seven Deadlies plus feature...